Soun PuppyDog
by Caccus
Summary: Soun, "Puppy-Dog" Wufe is just a student, when he and the rest of his class are abducted to fight against Monsters in a sick game. Soun can fight, but he is a better leader, and he will need all of his abilities to survive in this game of Life and Death.
1. Chapter 1

_**I just want to take this moment to apologize to the author of the Reality X story for this unfortunate coincidence, as the ideas are very similar. I promise that I have been working on this story for a couple of weeks, and I did not take any ideas from his story. Nevertheless, I apologize.**_

_**-Caccus**_

Soun brought his thin spear up once more, tracking some flickering shadow that moved deep in the jungle. He held his shield right below his eyes, his spear straight ahead. Relaxing slightly, he lowered his guard.

You would THINK that something so large, and colored orange and blue would be EASY to spot in the green on green that was the jungle, but he soon realized that the dark and the heat swirled the colors until the landscape ran like a wet painting.  
>But he wasn't going to give up. That THING... whatever it was... it had already killed two of them.<br>His eyes narrowed under his borrowed helmet.  
>And they would be the last.<p>

Another shadow looked promising. He brought his guard up again, and edged towards the shape, which was hidden under an ancient tree; next to the same body left dead on it's roots.

It struck.

* * *

><p>"Soun Woo-fuh" droned the bald, thin math teacher in the light-green polo, pronouncing "Wufe"as, "Woof".<p>

Again.

F**k.

Soun grimaced as Mr. Fried butchered his name, and Jake Houglund started woofing softly into fist from behind him, to the silent laughter of the rest of the class.  
>"Sonuvabitch, " Soun mouthed to the large, blond running-back behind him, which only added fuel to the fire.<br>"Puppy-dog," he whispered. "Woof's such a puppy-dog, right?" he mentioned off-hand to his friend, who nodded.

Soun grit his teeth, and turned back to the front. He was less than pleased to see across the classroom, Laura Shi, the girl he had held a crush on for three years, in a grin over the taunts. As soon as she caught Soun's eye, her grin faded, and she looked a bit too quickly back at Mr. Fried, who was rambling on about integrals or some shit.

Soun slowly pulled his gaze off of the black sheet of hair in front of him, and gazed up at the ceiling. Shit. Why did Laura have to sit right across from him? It was bad enough that she knew he liked her. Now that he had come back from Juvenile Hall, to his old school, everyone treated him like he was Jason Voorhes or something; he had to deal with Laura acting all the time like he was one wrong step away from lunging at her throat.

You could smile more, that annoying voice in his head told him for the infintith time,  
>and you F-off, Soun thought to that annoying voice, for the infintith-and first time.<p>

Laura was determinedly keeping her eyes locked on Mr. Fried, like it was Medusa that was across the classroom from her, and not just some poor Asian boy.

Well, not Asian. He called himself that so people will be just a shade's less freaked out around him in general. He was actually a half-breed, or a "Rice Cracker ", his Asian friends called him. His dad was from China, and his mom was a New Zealand white. Because his dad's name was Wu, and his mom's was the WTF name of Feddergang, he got the bitch-ass, combo-name of, Wu-Fe.

Hence, the effin' nicknames, "Woof," and then, "Puppy-Dog"

Shitheads.

Desperate for a distraction that wasn't pretty, black haired, and Lauren Katherine Shi, he rolled his head around the packed classroom.

Azumi Takami was in the back, doing some kung-fu shit with her ruler, Bahvi Varma was checking herself in a hand mirror, and DeSo Williams, the 1st string quarterback, Jacob Billings, the 2nd-string wide reciever, and ass-hat Jake Houglund were playing cards with a deck that looked about half-full.  
>Soun was surprised they managed to make it into AP Calculus, but he reasoned the three must be fairly smart if they managed to make it to the second quarter without being dropped. Especially since they spent half the class time screwing off.<p>

He let his gaze drift further, and happened on Abraham Abramson, in the far corner, wearing his thumbs out on his PSP. The pale, white, and fat kid filled the tiny desk he was on, and tiny eyes hidden behind glasses, were glued on his PSP screen. Soun felt a little annoyed by him. Abraham actually annoyed everyone, since he constantly told anyone polite enough to listen that he was playing some game called Muncher Hunter or something, and that he was desperate to find someone else to play with to kill whatever and whatever.

Soun had heard that Abraham had changed his name to "Kai" or "Gai" or some other Anime shit, but all that meant was every time the enormously fat kid waddled past them on his PSP in the corridors, assholes like Jake had slightly different insults for him.

As if it weren't already enough being fat, dumb, and having the most Jewish name on the planet. Given by parents that weren't even f**cking JEWISH.  
>Cruel folks, Soun mused slightly. And then he remembered he didn't care.<p>

Whatever Jake, Abraham, or Laura did, they made their choices, and they have their life.  
>He remembered Juvie.<br>And so did I.

He tried to listen to Mr. Fried, before giving up, and leaning back in his seat.  
>F**k this, Soun thought. He pulled his beanie down over his eyes, and had just enough of a glimpse to catch Laura throwing a quick glance at him before the fabric covered his eyes.<p>

* * *

><p>Halfway through his nap, there was shouting, and screams. He reached up to pull his beanie off, but a ridiculously strong grip stopped his hand at his forehead, while a second, equally strong grip held his right arm down.<br>"The HELL?" He shouted,

A stunning blow caught him on the brow, and the black of his beanie was splattered with red and green flashes. A second blow caught him in the chin, and Soun collapsed, not knowing up, down, sideways... red …. r … ed...

* * *

><p>It was cold. Too cold. Soun opened his eyes, and then tried to open his eyes again until he realized it was actually pitch-black.<br>He peeled his face off of the cold floor and felt his cheek with his fingers. Numb fingers rubbed against his numb cheek, so he gave up.

He pushed himself up, and started groping around on all fours. He was like a blind man, shuffling and bumping around to God knows where. His fingers swept up, and felt something wonderfully warm and soft.  
>Instantly, he grabbed the thing, letting the warmth seeping into his fingers.<p>

The thing moaned, and quickly twisted away, muttering: "Daddy... It's cold!"

Soun glanced back down at the dark where his hands, before realizing in horror what the warm thing was.  
>Shit.<p>

SHIT.

That was Laura's LEG.  
>Or maybe it was Azumi's or Bahvi's or some other girl's leg, he actually couldn't tell just by the voice.<p>

….still ...SHIT.

Soun groped around, more carefully this time, until he reached his limit. It seemed to be getting colder and colder by the minute. And although he couldn't have thought of a worse place to sleep, slowly, on the cold, dark floor, he fell asleep.

* * *

><p>"Soun? Soun! Wake up! Please!"<br>Slowly, Soun opened his eyes again. He woke up starting straight into Christina Hill's worried face. The girl was some kind of genius, and was two years younger than the rest of the class, which meant that she was just a kid compared to her math classmates.

"Thank God!" She grabbed Soun, crying. "So many others didn't wake up, Soun. George, and Thomas, and..."  
>"Er..." Soun didn't know how to react. "Thanks, Christina. I'm fine now." Soun shrugged off the weeping girl, and sat up, rubbing his shoulders. "What do you mean, didn't wake up?"<p>

Wailing louder, Chris pointed a shaking finger at a line of bodies. 5 of them, all sitting eerily still on the cold stone floor. Soun felt a weight in his stomach.  
>"Those aren't-" He inched forwards. Several other people were crying over the bodies, including Laura. She was crying silently over a thin, balding body Soun had no doubt was Mr. Fried.<p>

Soun walked slowly by the feet of the lined bodies, passing the crouched Laura, to look at the faces. Mr. Fried. Tom Gyvias. George Xu. Billy Redd. Some girl who's name he had never known, but he knew by sight. Someone had dressed the girl's fiery red hair, so she looked beautiful in death. Soun recognized Laura's green hairpin by the end.  
>Soun swallowed hard. He felt tears roll down his face, even though he didn't want to cry. Even though he didn't want to look weak, not in front of Laura.<p>

George Xu invited him to play Starcraft last week, even though they'd never talked before. Soun said no, of course. And now-

"Laura..." He spoke to her in the softest voice he could. She gave no sign of recognition, but simply stopped crying.

"How did they...?"

She paused for a moment, and then silently swept back the hair of the girl, and exposed the girl's temple. It was a blotchy purple color, and Soun could see an indent where she was struck. The hole was cold and dark, and there was a drop of blood in the center.  
>Instinctively, he touched the place where he was he himself was hit. The exact same place.<p>

Laura seemed to be on the verge of speech, but quickly broke into tears again.

Soun left Laura, and glided to the end of their prison, pushing despondent classmates out of the way. They seemed to be in some kind of stone locker room. The rock surfaces was covered in hangers designed for some kind of clothing, and there were benches along the surfaces everywhere. At the end, was a pair of large double-doors. Without thinking, he rushed up to the doors, and pounded on the wood surface, screaming.  
>"GET OUT HERE, YOU COWARDS!"<p>

Some of his classmates looked alarmed, while others joined in the shouting.

And then door did open. On the other side.

A scarlet-robed, hooded man slouched in. The hood covered the top part of his face, so you could only see his horrible grin. And yellow, gray teeth.

"You called?"

The nearest guy, Jacob, ran up to the man and punched him. There was an instant while Jacob tried to figure out what was happening, when he was hurled back.  
>The Red Man chucked.<br>"Nice try."

Bahvi, who was crumbled in a corner by herself, yelled out at the man,  
>"Who are you? What do you want from us?"<br>The Red Man turned to Bahvi.  
>"I won't waste time telling you who I am, where you are, and how you got here. Most of you will die anyways. The only thing that matters is that you are here to fight, and you need to be ready."<br>He clapped, and hatches opened above the class. Shields, helmets, and spears, all identical to each other, with the shields being square and Roman, the helmets simple metal, and the lances cheap and thin, showered the panicking students.

When the last helmet finished rattling, the Red Man spoke again.  
>"Good luck. I will be awaiting the survivors in the next floor down."<br>The Red Man stepped back, his door closed, and with a horrible grinding sound, the entire room slanted towards the double doors. Everyone started to roll and slide towards the large doors, which were slowly opening. Soun had a bad feeling about it; he knew this was what they wanted.

He grabbed a spear, and wedged it in the gap of a bench, making an improptu-hang bar.

But the slant was too much, and the spear slipped. He plunged through the open doors with the rest of them.

* * *

><p>They were in an enclosed space, with wooden walls surrounding the class in a circle. The class was just milling around, nervously. Soun saw Laura being comforted by her boyfriend, Tony, at the edge. Tony was one of those hipster-guys; he wore tight jeans and wore glasses even though he didn't need them. His hair was always perfectly swept to the side, even after swimming or running, which led Soun to speculate that he held his hair together with polymer cement.<p>

He snorted. Tony. Like he was so goddamn perfect. Where the hell was he when she was crying over the bodies?  
>He berated himself. He himself was there. And what did he do?<p>

He glanced down at a helmet at his feet. Unsure, he fitted it over his head. It fit perfectly.

"Hey!" Soun called out to the class at large. "Why aren't you putting armor on?"  
>"Shut up, puppy-dog," Bahvi muttered bitterly. "They could be trapped, or filled with poison- you're an idiot, and we're just waiting to see if your face melts."<p>

"If they wanted to kill us so badly..." Soun replied, pissed. "They'd dropped us onto spikes or some shit five minutes ago, you dumb bi-"  
>He stopped himself, and forced himself to calm down.<br>"...They want us to fight. The weapons and armor will help. So put them on."  
>Bahvi moved her mouth, but turned away, cursing. She muttered something about Saw IV.<p>

Soun gripped a spear, and hefted a shield. It felt oddly right. People started to imitate him, picking up equipment from the ground. He even saw Bahvi pick up a helmet that looked more like a hood.

After the class had all found some item, there was an uneasy silence.

"So...what?" Jake asked. "They going to drop whatever we need to fight into here?"  
>Soun glanced up, and noticed three ropes connected to the wooden palisade. They were attached to a primitive crane. And the crane was rising.<p>

"Get ready!" Soun yelled, "It's coming!" The wooden ring lifted up from the ground, hovering slightly around, as the class inched away from the swaying sides.

And then, the ring was free.  
>They were in an arena. The ground was dusty, and sandy, in a form of clearing, with jungle surrounded them, making up the edges.<p>

And in front of them, a dinosaur. Most people cried out in disbelief, at the blue-raptor thing, that was as tall as they were.  
>Jake turned to Soun nervously.<br>"Is this what we're supposed to kill?"  
>Soun ran up, and tried to stab the thing, but he was too slow. To everyone's surprise, Abraham ran up to the raptor, laughing manically.<p>

"It's here! It's here!" The boy stabbed the raptor, causing it to rear up in pain.

"Soun! It's just like Monster Hunter!" He held his head back, and laughed, stabbing the raptor between laughs. "Just! Like! Monster! Hunter!"  
>The raptor was reduced to a bloody mess on the ground now, yet Abraham kept on stabbing it. Soun had to grab the enormous boy's arms to stop him.<p>

"Stop it! It's dead!"

A low growl swept over the two boys. Soun saw that they were surrounded by even more of the... things. There were over a dozen of them, and they were all advancing menacingly.  
>"Abraham... Kai. Let's go back to our friends." But the enormous boy shook his head, still laughing.<p>

"No worries! These guys are weakli-" His speech was cut short by the rear most raptor, which leaped over thirty feet to claw into Abraham's face. Blood spurted everywhere, covering Soun and Abraham. More and more of them started leaping, and Soun tried to pull Abraham back, but the boy shrugged him off, and ran off into the jungle, screaming.

Deciding he would worry about Abraham later, Soun stumbled back to the safety of his friends, all of whom were scared beyond wits.

After glancing at a nasty gash on his arm, Soun looked up. The number of enemy raptors have double; tripled. The class was now outnumbered at least three to one. The students started backing away from the horde of dinosaurs as they advanced closer and closer, gaining ground with every step.

Soun saw the paths to death and life. And he was in no mood to die today.

"Keep together!" He roared, at the stunned classmates. "Stay together, and live!" Most of them did not need encouragement, and were already bunched together. Those that were not quickly followed orders, too scared to argue, and too confused to think differently.  
>The students now formed a rudimentary circle, but the edges were not airtight, and the raptors were edging towards weaknesses in their formation.<p>

"Lock your shields!" Soun called, rapping his spear on the helmets of those out of position, "As one!"

Several others took on the call, chanting, "As one! As one!" And the shields drew themselves tight next to each other, leaving no opening.  
>Soun turned, and impaled a raptor that was foolish enough to leap straight into their formation; it cried weakly, and died quietly.<br>"Good!"

Now the raptors, despite their superior numbers, had no opening to exploit their advantage. Where ever they struck, they were met by an impenetrable wall, and a forest of spears. Their numbers were beginning to dwindle, and the Soun saw that they might have a chance at winning.

"Keep it up! They're losing!"

Soun thrust his spear into a charging raptor, and after seeing the head of the spear disappear completely into the reptile, he heaved the shaft of the weapon, flinging the corpse aside. As soon as the corpse flew to the side, a bite, lightning-quick, flickered out from the front, and nipped at his throat. Soun felt razor sharp teeth scrape at his neck, and he could smell the monster's rotten breath.  
>Soun's neighbors immediately attacked, but the raptor that had taken this bite withdrew so quickly, that it completely avoided the thrusts of the students. In seconds, the huge raptor had disappeared.<p>

Soun caught a glimpse of it's enormous size, as large as a truck, and it's terrible, bright-orange crest.

"Shit! What was that?" The ones around him shook their heads; they had not seen what attacked him, either.

Then, the same massive raptor, with its bright orange crest, leaped out from the brush of the jungle, nearly sixty feet away, and soared over the first line the circle, crashing into the second line on the opposite side, where the students were facing the other direction, and were caught in the back by the attack.

One unfortunate student was caught directly under the huge raptor, and Soun could hear the crunching of bone as the raptor's huge claws sliced flesh, pierced skin, and crushed bone. A girl's cry split the gruesome scene as the raptor started tearing into it's prey, and the smaller raptors rushed into the opening in the defense.

Soun roared, and rushed up, swinging his shield as hard as he could at the huge raptor, clipping it in it's thin neck. The leader raptor howled, and then dashed away once again before spears could reach it.

All around, students were finishing up the last remains of the smaller raptors.

Soun was tempted to order the students into another formation, to wait for the raptor leader. But...  
>He glanced at the injured student on the ground; on him were two other students trying to bandage his wounds, while a third sobbed uncontrollably at his feet.<p>

"You five!" Soun rapped a group of students who were crushing a smaller raptor's skull. "Come with me!"

The boys looked uncertain, but followed Soun as the ran into the jungle brush. And into the lion's den.

* * *

><p>Soun glanced around nervously. Since he was the one who called them out there, he of course, had to take point. Which meant he envisioned every rustling of a leaf, every shifting shadow, as a soaring 300lb raptor with razor claws, and every vine or root that trapped his leg as a gripping jaw, filled with tearing teeth.<p>

In other words, it was stressful.

He looked around. His six comrades were all anxiously poking through the heavy vegetation. One accidentally struck his friend in the head with the butt of his spear, and the hurt fighter gave a small squeal of pain.  
>Soun shook his head, sighing, and turned to a suspicious looking bush, before stopping.<br>...Wait...Squeal?

Soun tread through the vegetation to the student who was studiously slouching as quickly as he could away from him. Now that he noticed it, this guy was a great bit shorter than everyone else, and he made sure only to pick the largest students...  
>Soun gripped the retreating student on the shoulder, and spun him around. He grabbed the student's visior,and yanked it up.<br>"Azumi," Soun breathed, livid.

"Eh!" Azumi looked startled, before knocking Soun's hand away; her stout face immediately turning defiant.

There was an uneasy silence, as Soun and Azumi both stared each other down, while the other 5 students hung back, as awkward bystanders.  
>"Pervert," Azumi stated, and slapped Soun on the cheek. Her hand slipped off the metal, and Soun's head barely twitched. He was not going to be distracted.<br>"Azumi. What are you doing here?"

Azumi seemed to struggle for an answer, before bursting out with:  
>"You think we're weak?"<br>Soun glanced at the other guys, who shrugged back at him.  
>He turned back.<br>"What?"  
>"How come didn't take any girls with you to kill the thing?" She enunciated "thing" with a sneer, putting her hands on her hips. "Do you think us girls are weak?"<br>Soun regarded her for a second, nodding slightly, his eyes fixed on the defiant girl in front of him.  
>"Yes, I do. And before you speak-" Soun warned, as Azumi opened her mouth angrily, "Know this first- weak or strong, I'm trying to guide us all back home- alive. That's not going to be possible if everyone fucks off and does his or her own SHIT!"<br>He yelled the last word, and his echo rung through the jungle.

Soun continued to rant, gaining steam.  
>"I left you there to protect the injured and the weaker students. Just like everyone else there. Even if you're a good fighter, by screwing off, and deserting them, you're putting their lives in danger. What if that giant monster attacked the company back there, huh? Where would you be, Azumi? Did that ever occur in your empty skull-huh, Azumi?"<p>

Azumi seemed to be at the point of tears, and for a second, Soun felt sorry for her. And then the vision of Laura being torn apart by raptors and tiny Christina Hill being rocketed into orbit by a raptor kick evaporated any sympathy he had.

Soun scoffed, and shut Azumi's visior down on her.  
>"But you know what? Wish granted. You're fighting with us now; I can't send you back alone, and I can't spare the men for an escort. Come on."<p>

Soun trudged off, the five others, following him, and Azumi sulking in the back.

Soun glanced back at the despondant girl.  
>"But you know what, 'Zumi?" She looked up. "Since you're here, you can show me some of that woman's fighting spirit. If it's enough, I might just change my mind about you all being pathetically weak." Soun gave a smirk-smile, and followed his troupe<br>She stood there for a second, struck, and then gave a grudging smile, and caught up.


	2. Chapter 2

2

"God!" whined Mike for the umpteenth time, "How big is this place?"

Soun and the others had learned quickly not to respond, so they let Mike ramble on a bit before he quieted down again, but he couldn't help but feel the same way. He had thought they were placed in an arena about the size of a football field, but they had been wandering around the thick jungle that made up the edges for the past hour, finding nothing. Several times, they had come across the same landmarks, even though they had been walking in a relatively straight line for a while now.

"Look!" Mike pointed, "It's that same body, AGAIN"

For the fourth or fifth time, the troupe inched their way around a desiccated body that lay by the roots of a massive tree. On the first time, the sight of a dried body, covered in rusted armor and dried blood, was startling and extremely disturbing. But after the third or so time, the effect was more annoying than scary.

Azumi stopped for a second.

"Hey, Soun." She said, "Does that body look weird to you?"

Soun glanced over at the body. As far as he could tell, it looked exactly the same as the last five times he saw it.  
>He shook his head, puzzled.<br>Azumi poked the corpse with her spear.  
>"It looks... like it was dragged here." She lifted the head of her spear to the tree behind it. There were numerous scratches left against the wood. Soun had assumed those were left behind by whatever killed the person.<br>"These... look deliberate."  
>"What're you," Mike pouted, "CSI?"<p>

Without another word, Azumi walked off the path, and into the jungle past the body.  
>"Hey!" Mike called, but Azumi ignored him.<br>Within seconds, the girl had disappeared into the thick brush. Everyone else just hung there, uncertain.  
>Andrew, a quiet straight-A student who sat two seats behind Soun, was the first to follow Azumi. two more followed him, and soon, the whole troupe set off after their impulsive wanderer. <p>

* * *

><p>They found Azumi crouched by the edge of a small pond, which was fed by a miniature waterfall. she was poking around the water with her spear.<br>"Azumi!" called Soun, "What're you doing?"

With a start, she tugged on her spear, and dragged up a body from the depths of the pond. This one was blotchy, and grotesquely bloated. Soun guessed that the body was a female's; though the only clue was particularly long hair, besides that, the thing looked nothing like a human.

Azumi stood up.

"It's a marker." She drew her spear up. "This is the edge of the monster's territory."  
>Mike opened his mouth, but fortunately, Azumi cut him off.<br>'The bodies..." She nudged the woman's body, "Are like a wolf's piss. They mark the monster's territory, like a wolf."  
>She glanced up at Soun, and smiled.<br>"Or...like a Puppy-Dog, right, Soun?" He guessed her pride was still a bit sore from before.  
>"Azumi," Soun said, "How do you know-"<br>Azumi shut his visor on him, mid-sentence.  
>"Just trust me, alright?"<br>"Soun.", boomed a deep-bass, monotone voice. The two looked up in surprise. It was Andrew. The tall, blank-looking boy spoke again, slowly. "We don't have any other ideas. Let's just listen to Azumi."  
>Azumi looked surprised, and turned back to Soun.<br>"Yeah, Soun. Even Andrew agrees, C'mon."

Soun looked from Andrew, to Azumi, and then nodded.  
>"Lead the way, 'Zumi" <p>

* * *

><p>Once they came to a cave, and Azumi searched thoroughly for anymore markers, she announced that there was the leader's hideout.<br>The cave was nearly pitch-black inside, and a dead, wispy smell was rising out of it's maw.

The entire party hung back, all looking at Soun, who was equally apprehensive. He'd rather eat bugs then be forced to go into that, but if he didn't go in, then no one would, so-  
>Azumi strolled confidently in, to the astonishment of everyone else.<br>Soun shrugged, and followed her.

Ladies first, he guessed.

Once they were in, he found that there was more light than he thought. Once his eyes adjusted, the ambient light from the entrance provided more than enough to see. They walked down a sloping tunnel, their footfalls making a continual crunching sound, as they trod on something like brittle rock. Curiously, as they travelled deeper, it got lighter, and lighter, until-

"My God!" Azumi exclaimed.

They were in a huge cavern. On the right was a hole in the rock face that could have fit a 747, that poured light into the cavern, and on the left, a bottomless chasm that stretched into the inky darkness.  
>The seven students wandered about the enormous, cathedral-like area they were in. Soun glanced down, and saw what they were walking on all this time.<p>

Bones. Old, dead, bones three feet deep.

His blood ran cold, and he called out to his friends, but they were all gathering at the narrowest section of the area, a section only twenty feet wide, between open sky, and bottomless chasm.

Right at the bottleneck, was the raptor leader. It seemed almost relaxed, and was sitting, carefully observing the advancing troops.  
>Soun saw Azumi abandon her shield, and she held her spear out in front of her like a sword. She was advancing slowly, confidently, towards the nonchalant, sitting leader.<br>Something was off.

A trap.

"AZUMI!" roared Soun, sprinting towards her, "GET BACK!"

He saw her turn, surprised, to look at him. Her face was only mildly surprised to hear his distressed voice, and her mouth hung slightly open in making a reply.

That innocent, surprised look would haunt him forever, because he knew she couldn't see the second Monster, a second raptor leader, clamber up from the edge of the bottomless chasm, and leap at her from her flank.  
>He knew she didn't know what was happening until the second Monster had struck her in her side. Her head whipped sideways, and her spear clattered to the floor as she went tumbling. Rolling over and out. Out into the open sky. The last part of her he saw was her small, petite hand vanish over the lip. And then she was gone.<br>He knew in her last moments, she was alone and scared.

The only thing that Soun could feel was that awful clenching feeling in his stomach, and a cold numbness.

"No," he whispered.  
>She couldn't be dead, he told himself, over and over again. She couldn't be dead, she couldn't be dead, she couldn't be dead, she-<p>

Then it hit him.

She's dead.

Simultaneously every student roared, and attacked the second raptor with their spears, shields, and limbs. Pushing it, closer and closer to the edge. Within another second, the raptor was sent tumbling off into space.

The first raptor roared, and Soun could see the blood on it's jaws. This was the one that first attacked the group. Without having to say a word, all six students charged at the Monster, attacking like demons possessed. Even with it's speed, the attacks on it were too ferocious, and too numerous; the cowardly Monster fled.

"AFTER IT!" screamed Andrew, and the six students charged back up the tunnel to the surface.

For a second, Soun stopped, and looked out at the hole leading to the open sky.

Good bye, Azumi... 

* * *

><p>As the six approached the mouth of the tunnel, they heard shouts, and the clattering of spears. Soun was the first to reach the outside, and nearly ran into a wall of spears.<p>

"Soun?" called Bahvi. She seemed to be directing the rest of the students. "What are you-?"  
>"OUT OF THE WAY!" screamed Andrew, and he tried to push his way past the students who were guarding the entrance.<br>"Holy- calm down, mofo." Bahvi turned to Soun. "If you're looking for that dinosaur thing, it just burst through my guys and ran off. You won't catch it now." She caught the look on their faces, and frowned.  
>"What's wrong?"<br>Andrew tried to speak, but he was gasping too much, and threw up. The other four looked just as unable to reply.  
>Soun fell down, and leaned back against the rock face.<br>"It's Azumi, she- she's-"  
>He couldn't finish it.<p>

"Dead" finished Bahvi, tears forming in her eyes. Several people gave shouts of disbelief and fear.  
>Bahvi turned to Jacob, who was very unhappily carrying something like a sack on his shoulders.<br>"We lost Christina, too. She- She was just lost in the confusion. Soun, a second one appeared. There are two of them."

Soun, all emotion spent, looked up at Christina's body.

"And what about that guy that was hit by the Monster?" Soun inquired, emotionally dead. "In the back?"  
>Bahvi's face soured again.<br>"In critical condition. I'm not sure Tony'll make it."  
>Vaguely, Soun registered who's boyfriend Tony was. It's amazing what the random stuff a mind can come up with under stress.<p>

He stood up, and strode off to the jungle.

"Bahvi, order up a defensive position, and have whoever's best at medicine to treat Tony."  
>"Oh?" Bahvi put her hands on her hips. "And where are you going?"<p>

Soun looked back at the girl, and glared. Not at her, but at everything.

"Finishing this."

And without another word, he strode off into the jungle, in a cold fury. 

* * *

><p>Soun brought his thin spear up once more, tracking some flickering shadow that moved deep in the jungle. He held his shield right below his eyes, his spear straight ahead. Relaxing slightly, he lowered his guard.<p>

You would THINK that something so large, and colored orange and blue would be EASY to spot in the green on green that was the jungle, but he soon realized that the dark and the heat swirled the colors until the landscape ran like a wet painting.  
>But he wasn't going to give up. That THING... whatever it was... it had already killed two of them.<br>His eyes narrowed under his borrowed helmet.  
>And they would be the last.<p>

Another shadow looked promising. He brought his guard up again, and edged towards the shape, which was hidden under an ancient tree; next to the same body left dead on it's roots.

And then it struck.

Soun brought his shield up, but the Monster was too heavy, and it knocked him flat onto his back. His spear went flying, disappearing somewhere deep into the brush.  
>The Monster nimbly leaped off him, and began to circle Soun, looking for an opening.<br>He scrambled back up, and held his shield up, always watching the Monster.

Waiting.

In a flash, the Monster jumped at him, and knocked Soun backwards again; his sneakers skidded in the dirt.

Still, he held his balance.  
>He dodged behind the ancient tree as the Monster raked the spot where he was a moment ago with it's long, razor sharp claws.<p>

A quick bite, and his shield was caught from the inside. The square Roman shield went flying, leaving Soun grasping at thin air.

In a flash, the Monster jumped onto his shield, blocking his path, and started advancing towards him.

Soun pushed up against the tree, his mind racing, his breath quick. Was he going to die here, too?  
>He brushed the old, dried body that he had passed so many times. His hands brushed a rusted handle, a rusted weapon that the body had been holding, and he gripped it tight.<p>

Not yet.

The two waited, tense. Soun imagined that he could see the individual muscles in the Monster tense up, as it got ready to leap. He knew, if he was off by even a half-second, he would die.

It leaped.

He swung.

Blood.

God, the Blood.

He looked down, and saw the Monster's largest claw stuck deep in his side. He looked up, and saw that the rusted spikes had carved into the Monster's neck, and broken off inside of it.  
>Good. Give it more pain.<br>And then, the jungle around him seemed to explode. He looked around, and saw that the entire class had been watching him fight. everyone streamed towards him, cheering. Their hands and bodies hurt his wound more, but he didn't care.

It was finished. They were going home.

And then, there was a scream.  
>"It's still alive!" Everyone retreated from the Monster, as they all watched it's chest slowly rise, and then fall.<p>

Soun got up, and dragged his rusted weapon to the beast. He raised the hunk of metal, and then-

"Soun! Wait." Laura pushed her way out of the crowd  
>She smiled at Soun, and he realized that this was the first time that she had ever smiled at him. But it was a sad, pained smile.<br>She noticed his surprise, and her smile sunk.  
>"Tony's dead." She turned to the Monster. "So Soun, please-"<p>

Soun held out the weapon, but she shook her head.  
>"Just wait." She glided over to the fallen Monster, and knelt at it's head. "Tony... Azumi... Chris..." she stroked it's bird-like head, and it seemed to calm down. "I hate you so much... But for all of them... I forgive you." She brought her head down over it, until it's head was obscured by her long, black hair.<p>

She got back up, and turned to Soun.  
>"Soun, please. There's no way I could- even think-"<p>

He nodded, and put a hand on her shoulder. He looked down at the Monster. Laying peacefully on the dirt, with rusted spikes in it's throat, it certainly looked pitiful. But he only had to remember Azumi, and Christina, to find the strength to kill.

He violently swung down with the weapon, and as it killed the Monster, the weapon snapped in two. Soun held his part for a second, before tossing his half onto the beast.

With the death of the Monster leader, a loud grinding noise was apparent from the east. The class looked from one another in fear, and slowly, they edged their way to what they hoped- was home.


	3. MiniChapter Chapter 2 and a half

Mini-Chapter 2.5

Soun was having trouble keeping up. Every step he took, he felt the warmness near his ribs spread. Blood was dripping in a steady rhythm down his side, and his black jacket was sticky and wet. His breathing was irregular, and his vision blurry. It didn't hurt much- yet. But he wasn't sure how much further he could make it.

Laura was the first to notice.  
>"Ohmigod! Soun!" She rushed to him, with several others. "What's wrong?"<p>

Soun grimaced, pulled his jacket up, and looked down. He didn't blame the others for gasping in fear. He would have probably gasped too, if there wasn't a three-inch claw stuck in his ribs.  
>And that was when it hit him.<br>Holy shit, there's a claw in me.

However, while the Monster's claw had stuck all of the way in, he could see the wound was shallow. He could see the point of the claw, a couple of inches from the entry point, in sharp relief with the rest of his skin. It seemed that the claw had entered in almost horizontally, lengthwise, and raised something like a claw-shaped bulb in him.  
>So he was lucky, then. Still hurt like a bitch.<p>

More in shock of the sight of the claw-tumor than in pain, he fell down. Bad idea. This irritated the claw-tumor, which made his previous pain feel like a flea bites in comparison. And his pain made him involuntarily move. Which made it hurt more. Soun writhed on the ground, every jolt of pain causing movement, and every movement causing more pain.  
>"Move it, female." Soun heard a weak, lofty voice drift in. The weak lisp... the emphasis on completely random words...That couldn't be?<p>

Abraham?

Holy shit, that guy's still alive?

Soun looked up, and saw the pale, white face of their class punching-bag staring right back down at him, with a detached, curious expression.

Like he was a science experiment or something.  
>Abraham's weak chin was covered in blood, and his mouth stuffed with what looked like weeds. Some of his drool had dribbled down his cheek, and Soun could see that it was green.<br>Then, Abraham pulled out a red colored-herb, and shoved his fist into Soun's mouth.

His mouth was instantly stuffed with some that tasted like fire.

Despite his pain, Soun sat up, screaming in pain. He spat frantically, but the fiery taste would not go away. As he spat, the pain in his side stacked up, and he fell back, mouth burning, side burning.

"Hrrrum..." mumbled Abraham, "Guess that was a HOT PEPPER, huh?" He enunciated the word, 'Hot Pepper', and for some reason, this pissed Soun off.  
>"Abraham...! Get the fuck OFF!"<br>The boy didn't listen, however, and started mixing something else.  
>Soun opened his mouth for another rant, but Abraham shoved his fist in his mouth again, and Soun tasted some kind of mushroom. This soothed the pepper, but there was something else in there. Something crunchy, hard, and... and...<br>MOVING.  
>He started choking, coughing this concoction out. As he spat, he could see pieces of white insect shell and legs, legs that were still twitching.<p>

"Did...*cough*" Soun bent over, one hand clutching his side, one hand covering his mouth as bug pieces and mushrooms leaked out of it.

"Abraham ...did you put a FUCKING BUG IN MY MOUTH?"  
>More blood started leaking out.<p>

Abraham remained impassive, and started rubbing his floppy double-chin.  
>"Hrrrum... guess NUTRIENTS didn't work, either." mumbled Abraham again, enunciating the word, 'Nutrients', "But I guess it doesn't recover health, so..."<br>"What the FUCK did you think that would do, ASSHOLE?"  
>"Ah...! Let's try THIS!"<p>

And then, Abraham pulled out what looked like broken pieces of bone, mixed with some more white insect parts.  
>"Hrrrum... no WYVERN CLAW to mix with the LIFECRYSTALS, huh?" he started inspecting Soun's claw tumor. "Well... I wonder if a BIRD WYVERN CLAW would work..."<br>And then he ripped out the claw from his tumor.

Soun, rage and blood spent, only gasped like a fish on dry land; his side wound was now pumping blood out by the pint, and he felt as if he was about to faint.

Laura was screaming, and tugging at Abraham's arm, while Soun felt a mixture of his blood, some bug, some bone, and the claw being shoved into his mouth.

Everything was getting blurry- and the voices seemed distant.

He heard a slap, and then a low groan escape Abraham.  
>When he opened his eyes, again, he saw Laura kneeling over him, with some green herbs in her hands. She was chewing the herbs, a small strand of spit peeled off the corner of her mouth.<br>With a start, she spat some paste into her hand, and kneaded it into Soun's wound, causing him immense pain.  
>"No...no more..." Soun muttered. Despite it hurting like hell, he could only manage a weak protest.<p>

Laura glanced at him apologetically, and kept on kneading.  
>"Don't worry, Soun. These herbs are called Agrimony, they'll stop the bleeding." She glanced reproachfully at Abraham. "I don't know what he was thinking, but he managed to grab some useful stuff."<p>

She kept working in silence, massaging the wound with herb pastes.  
>The curious spectators left once they saw that the danger was part. The two were left alone in the wake of the traveling class.<br>She kept working.

After a minute, she wrapped a strip of cloth around his waist, and tied it tight. The sensation caused Soun to gasp, but he felt better.  
>"That should hold it. Can you stand?"<p>

Soun, slowly, shook his head, and Laura sighed. She reached under his legs, and got a grip.

"You're going to carry me?" Soun asked, incredulously. He doubted it. He weighed at least 150 pounds.  
>Laura gave him another smile that made his heart skip, and pulled on his legs.<p>

And then she dragged him, feet first, after the advancing class.

~End


	4. Chapter 3

3

"Woah." Laura was the first to reach the pit in the arena, with Soun following close behind. Extremely closely.  
>The pit led down into a staircase, a wooden one, with torches flaking either side of them.<br>She dropped Soun, and bent down to feel the wood.

The rest of the class had caught up by then, and they were gathering around the pit, anxious.  
>"What if it's trapped?" Jacob asked, and several classmates shot each other uneasy looks at the word, trapped.<br>"I'll go!" Laura reached out with her spear, and started tapping the step in front her, and then took a decisive step. "It's good!"  
>She started to descend, but Soun came up and stopped her. Laura was acting exactly like- like Azumi.<p>

"Wait! Don't!"  
>"C'mon Soun, it's fine. Don't be such a worry-wart." Soun held his grip, and a practical joker wolf-whistled.<br>"Please." For Soun, Azumi's death was still fresh in his mind. "I'll go first."

And with that, Soun limped down.

* * *

><p>The students arrived in a torch-lit room, similar to their first room, except everywhere where there was stone before, the was worn wood. The room was pleasantly warm, probably due to the fireplace at one end of the room, and it was significantly larger than the first room.<br>A couple of doorways revealed row after row of bunks, and another, full of wooden practice dummies.

Soun was inspecting the bunks, with about half of the class, when a shout went up from behind them, in the main room, and there were angry threats. It sounded like a riot was starting behind them,

Soun followed the rest, and craned his neck over the crowd of students. He saw at once what caused the disturbance. The scarlet-robed man. The man was accompanied by two armed guards, who were pushing the rioting students back with their enormous shields.  
>The man looked upset, and seemed to be searching the crowd for someone. Good. His unhappiness was everyone's gain.<p>

"SILENCE!" The scarlet man roared, to no avail, as the students roared back. "WHERE IS THE ONE KNOWN AS SOUN?"

"Here!" Soun pushed his way through the rioting students. He pulled clear, and found himself facing the scarlet man.  
>"You... you weren't supposed to do that." The man muttered, his anger rising, "You weren't supposed to work together, you were supposed to let them die! MORE SHOULD HAVE DIED!"<br>"Sorry to disappoint." Soun felt a sick pleasure at the man's anger. More should have died, huh?

The scarlet man seemed to clam down, and merely glared at Soun. Soun saw at once that the man's eyes were a disgusting pink.

"Your...little stunt cost us. Normally the weak are weeded out to a far greater extent, by the first round, most groups are reduced to less than ten. This has complicated things... nevertheless, we must award the finest hunters in this group of elected."

The scarlet man pulled out a scroll, peeled it open, reading off of it.  
>"To the one with the majority of monster kills: Houglund, Jake."<br>Jake Houglund stepped forwards, glaring at the scarlet man with a hate that Soun had never seen before.  
>"To the one with the most inspiring leadership: Varma, Bahvi."<br>Bahvi didn't react, and only stared off into space, arms crossed.  
>"To the one with the greatest combat ability: Takeuchi, Azumi"<br>The scarlet man gave a sickening smile, and stated clearly:  
>"Deceased."<p>

Soun lost it then, and threw his spear at the scarlet man, the point aimed perfectly at his face. The missile glanced off harmlessly, a half-foot before it reached him.  
>The man's smile widened, and then shrunk as he saw the next name. He quickly rolled the scroll up.<p>

"To the three mentioned: we award the first pick of the improved equipment:" The two guard stepped back, and pulled out racks and racks of enormous weapons, and rows upon rows of full sets of armor.

Jake and Bahvi stepped forwards, uneasily, and browsed through the weapons and equipment.

There was shouting, and a couple of cusswords, when Abraham, chin still bloody, herbs still stuffed in his mouth, burst forwards from the crowd. His eyes were passionate and alive, and he rushed up to the scarlet man, who inched away.  
>"What about me? What do I get! I've played Monster Hunter for AGES and I'm a huge fan of your work- you're with Capcom, right? Some testing for a new game? You saw me, right?"<br>The scarlet man sniffed, and glanced at his scroll.  
>"You were the one who ran off and hid in a corner for the duration of the battle."<br>"But-but I know EVERYTHING about Monster Hunter, I HAVE to be given something!"  
>Abraham's eyes lit up when he saw the weapon's rack.<br>"Oh wicked! The IRON KATANA!" Abraham snatched an enormously long Japanese-looking sword from Bahvi's hands, and drew it. "I love this weapon!" The sword gleamed in the light, and Soun could see that it was razor-sharp.

The boy swung the sword clumsily in a wide circle, causing several people to scream and duck in panic. "Aw, I can't do a spirit combo? Guess I need to kill something first."

Abraham gave an exaggerated look around, and lighted on his target. He started advancing on the nearest person to him. Laura. There was something dangerous in the boy now, and he laughed evilly as he started swinging at the defenseless girl. People fled, and the scarlet man laughed; Laura was backed into a corner now, horrified.

"Hopefully, I'll fill the entire gauge with just you." He raised the sword.

Soun started running, but he slipped, and fell on his side hard.

By the time he looked up, someone else got there first. Someone dressed in what looked like red football armor. The football player tackled Abraham, and the two went sprawling. His helmet fell off, and Soun could see- Jake?

Whatever Jake was planning-it worked. Abraham abandoned Laura, and started attacking him. He got up, and starting swinging at Jake, laughing all the way. Although Abraham was slow and clumsy with his blows, Jake had no weapon, and the blade was chipping away at his football armor. Underneath, his damaged armor shone white, and he had marks all over his body now.  
>Abraham kept on swinging at Jake, while he could only cover himself with his gaunlets, and take the blows. Sooner or later, he would-<p>

"Jake!" DeSo ran in, holding a smaller, although still large sword in one hand. The quaterback ducked swiftly underneath Abraham's swings, and slide-tackled the boy's feet. The fat boy went tumbling, and the sword clattered against the wood floor.  
>The boy tried to push himself up, but a lance thudded into the floor, over his head, nicking his ear.<br>Jacob stood over the boy, one arm gripping an enormous lance, and the other, an enormous shield.  
>"That's enough, Abraham." he spoke in a surprisingly soft voice for a such a large person.<p>

Abraham was still shooting covetous looks at the sword, until Laura stepped in. But she was less helpless this time, as she had grabbed a crossbow-like gun from the rack.

She aimed the crossbow she found at his head, and pulled the slide back.  
>"Don't move, Kai" She aimed grimly down her sights. "I don't want to hurt you."<br>Abraham whimpered sadly.

"Hey!" Jake shouted, rubbing the marks in his armor, "Nice one, Charlie's Angel."  
>"Shut up, Jake", but she smiled. She turned to Soun. "Soun! You alright?"<p>

Soun realized he was still sitting.  
>"Yeah, I just fell..."<br>"But your wound-"  
>"I'm fine." Something about being pampered annoyed him. Everyone else sprang into action, but all he could do was sit like an idiot and watch.<p>

"Well... now that THAT'S over.." The scarlet man spoke again, sounding slightly disappointed. Maybe because no one died.

"We have one more item to award." he spat out the last word like it burned him.  
>"To... the one" The scarlet man closed his eyes, and sighed. "named Woo-fuh, Soun."<p>

Everyone looked at Soun. He stared back at the scarlet man, impassive.

"We award you with this. For... for bravery. And spirit. And leadership."

The two guards wheeled out a small rack, that had only one set of armor and one weapon on it.  
>But what was on it, made even Soun gasp.<br>Beautiful, red armor that struck out in dragon-like spikes, that looked like both a warrior's, and a majestic beast's armor in one. It had a helmet like a dragon's and seemed to sprout wings at the shoulders, finishing it a skirt-like tasset that seemed perfectly in place.

"Armor, crafted from the hide and scales of the King of the Skies. And for a weapon,"

By it, was an enormous metal claw, with what seemed to be a handle attached. The entire thing was a block of metal, ending in a vicious hook, and vents on each side.

"The Barbarian's Great Axe: the Ravager Blade."

Unconscious of himself, Soun stepped forwards. Everyone seemed to be holding their breaths. He reached for the handle, and gripped it. He swung the iron claw up, and held it in two hands. It was lighter than it looked. His hands passed over a trigger, and he squeezed.

Five blades, along every two inches of the block, sprouted and keened in the light.

"Like it?" The scarlet man scowled. "Good, now we can-"  
>Soun swung and threw the greatsword at the scarlet man; the man only had time to raise his hands before he was knocked off of his feet.<p>

The man had crossed his arms in front of him, and the largest hook had stopped short of his face by a hair.

In a flash, Soun was on top of him, and he had grabbed the sword again, and brought the Ravager blade down on the scarlet man's face. The mystical barrier had stopped him again, but before Soun could try a third blow, the two guards had grabbed him, and thrown him onto the ground.

Gasping, the scarlet man got to his feet, and starting ranting incoherently.  
>"You- you ungrateful whelp! How dare you attack me!"<p>

The man calmed down again, and gave Soun a evil smile.

"For that, my boy, you have earned the rest of the class a brief respite. The next fight is in a week. And you will face the horrors that dwells within- alone."

The scarlet man chuckled, and retreated into a heavy door.

"To the rest of you, after you arm yourself with something, thank Mr. Woo-fuh. This week will be the last you will ever see of him."

The door slammed, and the class was silent.  
>They all stared. Stared at Soun.<p> 


	5. MiniChapter Chapter 3 and a half

**_~This is a short one, because I'll be gone for a while. Christmas, and all that. Merry Christmas, I'll see you guys and gals next year._**

"Listen closely, _Ah-Sou_" Richard Wu slowly circled his son, his form barely visible in the dark training room. "Of all competition among men, of all contests of worth..."

He stopped in front of the crying boy in front of him. The child was six, his face was cut and bleeding, and he nursed several bruises in his stomach. The boy would not look up; he was too scared of the huge man towering over him.

"To fight... to KILL... is the purest form of all conflict. These sports, soccer, tennis," he gingerly picked up a swimsuit from his son's schoolbag, and scowled at the tiny bit of fabric. "...and swimming."  
>The man's English was impressively perfect, even unnaturally perfect. At night the boy could hear the man's perfect English float into his sleep, haunting him. But worse was the man's rarely used, guttural, savage Chinese.<p>

"Raw fights to the death measure all of a man's ability. His intelligence, his strength, his endurance, his spirit, his cunning, and his will to kill. I tell you the truth, to truly prove yourself better than another man, you only have to be standing over him, after defeating his body, breaking his mind, and crushing his spirit.

"With this, I forge you to be a man." He brought his hands up. "Again! The Pointed-Arrow stance!"

The boy brought his arms up, and folded them into the Pointed-Arrow stance.  
>With a roar, the forty-year old man launched himself at his son, until-<br>"My God!"

A beautiful woman with red-blond hair dashed into the room, screaming. She was dressed for a party, and her animal-skin handbag clattered to the floor as she reached for her son.  
>Ellen Feddergand Wu threw herself over her son, horrified.<br>"WHAT-ARE-YOU-DOING?"  
>Coldly, the man replied, "I could ask you the same thing, wife. Where were you? You finish work at four." His eyes traveled slowly over her dress, a sparkling green backless that shone a deep black in the dark. "At a party?"<br>"Never mind what I was doing, what were you doing! You're beating him!" Ellen turned to the boy and started kissing him, and hugging the boy. "Soun-baby, everything is okay, everything's going to be fine-"  
>"I am training him. He needed to learn how to be a man."<br>"Be a man!" Ellen gave a derisive laugh. "He's six! He's a child!"  
>"He will be a child longer if you keep on pampering him like one." Richard's eyes narrowed. "And I resent parenting lectures from a woman who spends three-quarters her day out of the house, partying."<br>"A woman?" She repeated, voice rising hysterically, "I am his MOTHER!"  
>"You are meddling. My son is a warrior at heart, and I will lead him there. With or without you."<p>

Richard brought his stance up again, his army training showing again.  
>"<em>Ah-Sou<em>! Again!"  
>"No more!" screamed Ellen,<p>

Soun slipped away from the argument, and trod up to his room, in the darkness of his mansion-like house.

He reached his room, and slipped inside, locking the door.

The only adorning feature in his room was a hanging, 100 pound punching-bag. The rest of it was bare. No toys, no posters, no nothing. Just a bed, a desk, and a punching bag.  
>His father was right about something.<br>The six-year old struck the bag as hard as he could, and he felt his rage thaw. He pulled back for another punch, and struck with a blow that would send any other six-year old sprawling.  
>He was a warrior.<br>Soun gave a kick to the bag, imagining that the bag was his father's face.  
>And so it went on into the night.<p> 


	6. Chapter 4

4

"Good luck, Soun." Soun's classmate said, and then nodded at him, before striding off, armored in a green-scaled suit.

Soun, who was sitting on his bunk, nodded back, and returned to fitting his armor on.  
>Soun clasped his vambraces on, pushing the protective gloves in until he felt a satisfying click in each.<p>

He stood, and held both sides of his tasset on either side of him, before pulling in inwards, and latching the buckle in tight, formed a skirt-like protection for his upper legs.  
>He slipped both his feet into long greaves that reached to his hips, and then shifted his weight onto each until they connected.<p>

He stood up, and reached out almost reverently to his helmet. He glanced for a second at the face, before flipping it around, and letting it slide over his head. It touched his collar, and he gave the helm a sideways twist, locking the helmet in.

With a flick, he shut the visor down, and saw the world through a dragon's eyes once more.

* * *

><p>He kept a brisk pace through the locker room; with his purposeful stride, his above-average height, and his new armor, he felt throughly intimidating. All around him, there were students fitting their armor on for their daily training, acknowledging him with "Soun.", or "Puppy-dog"<p>

The words were encouraging, but detached, and slightly cold.

He knew why.

He reached his weapon rack, and carefully gripped the handle of his weapon. The sword lifted with ease, and he held it over his head. Slowly, he latched it to the harness at his slide, and after a slight hesitation, he let it hang. The greatsword swung, and hung horizontally behind his back.

There was a group that clustered around the entrance to the arena. He spotted Jake, and his friends, Bahvi, Laura, and several others, all dressed in their battle gear, and all waiting for him. To send him off.

As he approached, Jake clapped him on the back, and, after hesitating for a second, pushed him out the door. ("Give'em hell, Puppy-Dog")

They all were supporting him. But they didn't want to get too close. They didn't expect him to come back.

* * *

><p>He strode through a dark tunnel, trying to keep his heart steady. A moment of weakness let his mind wander.<br>So what will it be this time? He thought dryly, the last time was a horde of raptors.

Ninjas?

Tanks?

Predators AND Aliens?

He reached another set of doors.  
>He lay his armored hand on the wood, and hesitated.<p>

They barely made it with an entire class. What could he, by himself, do? It would be just him against something worse than a horde of raptors. He would almost certainly die.

What else could he do?

He could beg for his life. Maybe convince the scarlet man to let the entire class fight. He might live, then.  
>He could just turn back now, and he could just explain to the rest of the class his idea. No way they would let him die. No way that they would forsake him.<p>

He curled his hand into a fist.

It would be so easy.  
>Just. To live.<p>

He noticed his breathing was quickening. His breath stumbled out of his nostrils in clumps; a rhythm of life beat against his ears.

Before he could decide, the doors swung open, wind started gushing from the gaping black hole, and the floor started to slant.  
>He sighed.<br>"Hey, that was easy." he muttered, and before the floor could dump him through, he jumped.

* * *

><p>He stood at the peak of a snowy mountain. The height let him see for miles around, and he could see the ridges of countless other peaks, stark against the starry, moon-light sky. He wasted no thoughts on how a mountain range could fit where they were, because his brain stopped working the moment he touched the snow.<p>

Because in front of him, stood the most terrible thing he had ever seen.

It had the head of a T-rex, that was connected to a thick neck that was forged onto a chest like a tank. Impossibly long arms nestled bat-wings in between their limbs, and a vicious, barbed tail swung back and forth anxiously.

Also, it looked hungry.

Fuck.

It reared up, and roared a roar that made Soun gasp, fall, and clutch at where his ears should be. A ringing started raking his ears, and he couldn't stand straight.

The tiger-dragon set it's paws down again, and licked it's mouth.  
>It wasn't mocking him, it wasn't taunting him; the damn thing was barely considering him.<br>He was just food.

Bastard.  
>He grit his teeth<br>His ears rung. The air froze his breath as he drew and expelled ragged gulps of the thin atmosphere. His balance was shot to hell.

But through all that, he stood. Slowly, he pulled his sword from his harness, and rolled the weapon over his head.  
>As he rested the sword on his shoulder, he turned his free hand, his left hand, and pulled his fingers back except for one.<br>THE one.  
>Fuck you, he thought, you ugly sonuvabitch.<br>He would not be cowed.

The beast, as if it sensed Soun's challenge, roared, and charged at him. Soun could see the massive limbs stretch out, and the razor-sharp claws that covered it's paws. He drew his arms in a counter-clock wise motion, and like a windmill, he swung his body in a deadly circle.

And at the end, the sword whipped around and met the beast's deadly paw in the air.

They locked for a second, and it was not clear who would win. Soun felt his arm shake with the impact, the metal creaked, his arm stretched to his limits...  
>And the blow was parried. The paw was deflected to the ground, wrangled bloody by the Ravager Blade's serrated spikes.<p>

Soun gave a quick laugh of disbelief. He could actually do this-

The other paw whipped through the air and caught him in the chest.

He flew. Even through his armor, Soun knew the blow was decisive. He smashed into something soft, snow, and then struck something hard, rock.  
>He lost his sword. Everything was dark, for snow filled his visor.<br>Something snapped behind his eyeball, and he felt liquid in his head.

That was it. He was done. Somewhere in the background, the beast roared triumphantly.

He lifted his head, and he could see the monster advancing.  
>No.<p>

He promised-

"Hey now, Ugly." An easy, Texan drawl cut through the howl of the wind. "Why don't you take a break from Suzy here, and jig with me?"  
>A boot clamped down on the snow in front of him. A black, cowboy boot. Something grabbed his helmet, and pulled it off.<br>In disbelief, Soun looked up.

The man looked impossibly out of place- and still, oddly RIGHT. He had a black, angled cowboy hat on, titled to its side. His vest was black too, and stood out against his white, collared shirt. All this matched his black, embroidered yet somehow MANLY pants.

And on his back, a black-and red sword, Japanese by the look of it with an extremely wide hilt. Vicious spines sprouted along the back of the blade.

The man wore all of this- with such an ease and grace that it forced all of these clashing elements to complement.  
>He tipped his hat at Soun.<br>"Howdy. Sorry to butt in, but looks like you could use the help here, son."

The monster was less impressed. It roared another challenge at the Texan warrior, and started circling the man. The man grinned, again with such an ease that Soun couldn't help but feel hopeful.

The man eased out his sword, and held it over his shoulder, like Soun. But Soun could see by the man's stance, and once again, the man's simple grace, that the Texan was far better at swordsmanship than he was.

The monster struck with a diagonal slap, as if he was trying the squash the man flat, but the paw struck only snow.  
>The man had somehow avoided the attack, and ended up at the monster's armpit, with his sword resting on the paw's wrist.<br>Almost lazily, the man pulled, and a fountain of blood shot out from the monster's limb, while it howled in pain.

It immediately swung it's other paw at the man, and once again, it struck only thin air. Soun had to look around before he saw where the man was: both feet planted on the monster's back, and his sword was held reversed, right at the monster's throat.  
>Once again, the man performed that almost unbearably slow pull, and a sheet of blood ran from the monster's neck.<p>

It screamed in pain, and bucked and thrashed, until the Texan was flung off, although the man landed so gracefully that Soun wondered if the man had not done it on purpose.

The monster roared, and then flung it's outer paw at the man, who pulled his head to the side, and let the mortal blow pass. It growled, and then spun in a rapid circle that sent all six of it's limbs spinning in a deadly windmill.  
>The monster spun, the Texan spun, and...<p>

What happened next was too fast for Soun to see. It seemed that the monster made a storm of it's limbs, and then instantly spun off in agony, it's tail flying through the air, a stump where the flexible barb used to be.  
>The Texan smiled, and lowered his sword. Blood dripped off of it's edge like paint off of a brush, and the crimson ink drew spirals on the snow.<p>

The monster lay squirming on the ground, until the man strode up to it and planted his foot on it's head. The Texan thrust the sword into the base of the monster's skull; it twitched once, and lay still.  
>"Hell's half of what I woulda done to you. Y'lucky I'm bored."<p>

The man reached out a gloved hand to Soun.

"Hello, son. Welcome to Satan's Kitchen. I'm the chef."

* * *

><p>Laura<p>

Day 7, Yesterday

Soun drifted through the empty locker room as silently as a ghost, and nearly as pale as one, too. There was only one more day. One more day to 'till his own, personal horror.

He needed the sleep, but his body would not rest. Every muscle in his body ached and cramped. His stomach felt like it had a lead bottom.  
>If he walked out into the arena, without a wink of sleep, he definitely WAS going to die, so he drifted through the locker room, stalking it.<p>

Up ahead, he saw yellow light spilling around the corner. He glanced around, and he saw there was a single light on, with one person sitting under it. Laura. She was crying on the bench, cradling a helmet in her lap.  
>She looked up, and saw him. She gave a small gasp, and stood up- and sat back down, her head lifted slightly. He saw her gulp.<p>

There was no way to walk past her without looking like he was trying to avoid her, so he walked past Laura, at a controlled, even pace, to the doorway behind her. He was halfway through the door, when he heard her say:  
>"Wait!"<p>

He stopped.

He glanced back, and turned to face her.

She wiped her eyes, and looked back up at him.

"You...you..." she pulled a bundle of herbs from her side, and gave them to him. "Use these, this is Agrimony to stop bleeding, and Evening Primrose for poisoning, although it works only if you boil it, so I don't know how much use it might be, but you might have something to-"

She faltered at his impassive face.

He lowered his eyes, and sat on the bench opposite of her.

"What's wrong, Laura?"  
>She lowered her eyes, too, and the two sat, staring at each other's knees for a while.<br>He glanced at the helmet, and recognized the shape. In it, a pair of thick glasses that corrected nothing.

Fuck. He was an idiot.

Tony, her dead boyfriend.

"Tony. Laura, I'm sorry, I should've-"

"He- was a jerk." Laura grimaced, and looked up at him. "I couldn't stand him for weeks. I was going to break it off- when... he..."  
>"You still loved him."<br>She hesitated, and then nodded.  
>"We had something."<p>

They sat in silence for another minute.  
>"Are you scared, Soun?"<br>"Yes."

The task ahead of his made his stomach lurch again. He stood up, and resolved to try for sleep one more time.

"Soun. You're not alone." Laura looked up at him and smiled. "We'll all be waiting for you back here. So can you promise me one thing?"  
>"What?"<br>"Can you promise me." She fixed him with her sad, almost pleading eyes. "That you'll come back to us?"

Soun considered, and then his mouth stretched at the edges.  
>"I won't."<br>Laura sighed, and glanced back down.  
>"You're right. I'm sorry-"<br>"I'll do you one better." Soun reached down, gripped her lithe hand, and holding it firmly between them.  
>"We'll all go home together. Everyone. I promise."<br>"Really?"  
>He gripped tighter.<br>"I swear."  
>Laura closed her eyes, smiling.<br>"..."

"..."

"..."

"What?" Laura said, frowning, "You're still here?"  
>"What?"<br>"Wait, Puppy-Dog, you seriously don't know?" Laura started giggling a bit, "Come ON! 'I swear'" She imitated, in a deep voice, "And all of that- when you say something THAT cool, you HAVE to turn around, walk off, and don't look back!"

"I- I'm sorry?"  
>She started laughing in earnest now.<br>"God! Puppy-Dog! You're hopeless!"  
>Still laughing, she stood up, and pushed him to the bunks.<br>"C'mon, Bruce Lee. Get to bed, you've got a big day tomorrow." She gave him a final shove, and reached for the door.

She pulled it halfway closed before stopping. She looked at him, laughter gone, but a smile still on her face. A smaller one.

"One more thing, Soun." her voice was a whisper.

"I wasn't crying for Tony, Soun. I was crying for you."  
>She closed the door.<p> 


	7. Chapter 5

7

"Drink."

A cup of something like coffee was held under his head.

"Drink!"

The cup nudged him.

Soun got up, and took the cup of liquid automatically. He winced as he did- he head hurt like a son of a bit-

"Howdy, son. You passed right out after we met."

Soun's blurry eyes settled on a kind, strong face; blond stubble coated his chin, and strands of fair hair poked out from under the man's hat.

He smiled, and stood up. Soun realized the man must have been sitting.

He glanced around. They were outside. Still on the mountain- and it was still freezing like hell. It seemed to be daytime, though, and they were nestled in a tent that sheltered the two from the wind. The ground was grassy, trees were surrounding them, and the sky was blue and clear instead of foggy and white. It was peaceful.

Still...

"I thought..." Soun mumbled, "that I was supposed to wake up tucked in a soft bed, in your warm cottage, where you nursed me back to health for months with loving care." He sniffed the cup.

"With delicious, hot stew, and not... mud."

The man chuckled, and set a pot of something on a small fire by their side.

"No can do, sweetheart." He poured some of the dark liquid for himself, and drank. "A cup of somethin' warm, and a clean wood bed's the best I can do."

He got up, and stretched.

"Alright, let's go." He knelt, and started packing up his cooking gear.

"Already?"

"Whaat? You've been sleeping for three hours already!" He picked up a dirty looking bowl, and sniffed it's contents once, before shrugging, and downing the whole thing.

"But... I'm hurt and-"

He was pelted with bottles of some green fluid.

"Suck it up and down a couple Pots. We're moving out now."

"To where?"

The man dropped a tin pan into his sack, looked up and grinned.

"We're going to find my target. And either we kill it, or... "

* * *

><p>They trekked down from the base camp, down a steep trail to the lakeshore of a clear, blue lake that stretched out for miles. Transfixed, Soun walked out to the water's edge. He felt the icy lake lap at his armored feet. The lake's water was like a mirror- he saw twin mountains in the distance, stretching out into twin cloudless skies, and twin peaks that seemed to scrape the heavens. It was... beautiful.<p>

"Hey, precious." the man called, "I never got your name."

"Soun," Soun said, and before he could stop himself, he added, "Puppy-Dog"

Soun laughed to himself at the mistake, and turned to the man.

"So what's your-"

The Texan's sword whipped out; the katana was only a black-and red blur.

Soun caught the blade on his helm, and he felt the edge dig in.

"Gah!" He yelled, as his head whipped back.

Soun hopped back two, three paces, before clutching at his head. He chanced a glance at the man, and saw the Texan advancing, sword out by his side.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Soun winced, and gripped his head again.

"I'm James, by the way. And I can't have any Wussies with me on my hunt. My target ain't the nice kinda monster that'll let you make mistakes. He'll chew you up and spit you out a corpse."

James' face hardened.

"The Kushlala Daora. You'll only slow me down. So you're leaving."

Soun put his hand on his knee, and pushed himself up.

"Like hell you are." Soun drew his sword. "I know I'm weak. That's why I need you to help me. To kill whatever MY target is." He slung his sword over his shoulder, and rested it on his opposite shoulder. The free hand rose up on the opposing side, and balanced the heavy blade.

"If I don't...I'll die."

"No." James muttered, imitating Soun's pose.

"You'll die right here."

He lowered his stance, until he was almost flat to the ground

_Shit,_ Soun thought, while observing the man's stance. The easy, relaxed muscles. The low stance, and the blade-over the shoulder. And finally, that balancing hand.

_He's trained in sword-fighting, too._

_And he's better than me._

His father's voice cut through his fear.

* * *

><p><em>"When killing! With the Da Dao! Richard Wu yelled, holding a massive Chinese broadsword at the hilt, pacing. You MUST preserve your Chi! Your Chi is your sword and shield in the Da Dao! With these WEAKER weapons,<em>"

_The man paused, and then kicked the down family's rack of weapons, sending the blades, staffs, and spears scattering all across the floor._

_"Any! WON BA DAN! Can fight passably and fuck up, and WIN. Any fool can mess up with their knives, or their mace, or their... Katana..."_

_ Richard Wu said with a sneer, kicking at a samurai sword on the ground. _

_"...and win. With the Da Dao, you will destroy weaklings with your perfection, or be eaten alive by your own incompetence like a sheep in a pack of wolves as their lesser incompetence exploit your mistakes."_

_Richard slung his broadsword onto his opposing shoulder, and lowered his right hand, showing Soun his palm._

_"So! Again!"_

_The fourteen-year old Soun slung his broadsword over his shoulder, and lowered his stance, again. And they struck._

* * *

><p>The present-day Soun matched the Texan's circling, keeping his precious distance. He knew the man's skill. He would have to perform this perfectly.<p>

They stopped.

Soun grinned.

He kicked at the ground, sending a clots of dirt and rock flying at the Texan's face. The man whipped his sword sideway in a flash, clearing the air in an instant, but Soun was already in his next position.

He was crouched low, sword lower and to the side, vicious blades angled up.

With enormous effort, he brought the Ravager Blade up in a deadly uppercut. Predictably, the man vanished right before the blades touched him. And since Soun couldn't see him anywhere-

"Behind!" Soun roared, and swung the Ravager Blade backwards, when he heard a _Tsk!_ of annoyance. James had appeared again, just outside of his vision, in a defensive stance, keeping his Long Sword held between them.

Soun let himself laugh a bit.

It was working.

James may be faster, stronger, and more skilled than him; certainly able to kill Soun twice over in the openings he made with the Ravager Blade- but he could not attack.

Unless the Texan wanted the both of them to go home in body bags- James would have to dodge every last one of his heavy blows. He could not block, he could not parry Soun's strikes. He could only run.

_My Chi is my sword and shield_, he recalled, smiling.

"I know what you're doing," called James. That easy smile was still absent from his face, only an iron-hard killer started back at him. He lightly tossed his blade from hand to hand.

"You think yer pretty smart- except you forgot one thing."

He appeared in front of him, in the same stance as Soun was, stance low, sword lower.

"It don't work if I hit first."

The Texan roared, and brought his sword up in an upwards swing that was three, four times more powerful than Soun's. Despite his blade looking so much lighter, it rammed Soun in the belly, crushed his armor, and lifted him into the air. For a moment, Soun was weightless; he stared up at the clear blue sky. As he fell, he could see James turning, and swinging his sword like a baseball bat. Right at where he was going to fall.

"AGGH!"

It was a home run.

* * *

><p>Soun lay, back against a rock face, defeated. His sword was laying by his side, his head lay limply against the wall. The solid granite had cracked with the force of the impact as Soun smashed into it. His breathing came out ragged. Didn't he know this feeling? Oh yeah, only three fucking hours ago, he was ripped open like a package by a mother-fucking tiger-bat, and now he gets put in the ring with the Texan Terminator. What a day.<p>

"Son... you really don't know, do you?" James asked, checking his blade. The black-and red samurai sword was unscathed. "When they drop two different hunters into an arena, it ain't a team effort. It's a race to see who gets into the gateway first.

"Only one can come out alive."

Soun stared off into space, eyes unfocused.

"Yesterday, I killed the target we were competing over. There was no Kushlala- that Tigrex was our target, and the gateway to the next level has opened up already. And whoever makes it through first- lives"

Soun, through his haze of pain, felt confusion.

"W...W-Why?"

"Huh? Oh. Why'd I save you?" James scratched under his hat. "I guess wanted to give you a chance. Don't like giving a man no chance to live." He walked over, and picked up Soun's Ravager Blade. The teen could only give a weak cry of protest as he was robbed of his weapon.

"You had that chance. Good-bye, son. They'll execute you once I'm through."

And the Texan strode off, carrying two blades, through the cave, leaving Soun against the rock face.

_Well..._ Soun thought, as he died slowly inside, _out of all the ways to go, this isn't so bad._

He had a wonderful view of the mirror-like lake. The twin landscapes, pulling away from each other, in elegant harmony... he couldn't a picked a more beautiful last sight. A beautiful last sight...

Laura's face kept drifting to the front of his mind.

No! She was gone, just like the rest-

_"We'll all go home together." Soun said, "Everyone. I promise."_

God... what Jackass said something like that? The words sounded cheesy to him only a day afterwards.

_"Can you promise me." She fixed him with her sad, almost pleading eyes. "That you'll come back to us?"_

God! No! Shut up!

_"I swear."_

He sighed.

Everything he cared about was gone now. He failed his promise. He lied.

And then...

The potions that James threw at him rolled out of his pouch. And with it... Laura's herbs.

He stared blankly at the items. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized he still had a chance.

His own words echoed in his mind.

_"I swear."_

_Laura's eyes closed in satisfaction, and her smile curved upwards in a thankful peace._

Soun reached for the nearest glass bottle full of green liquid.

"I swore." he whispered.

His sides screamed in protest as his armored fingers brushed the glass surface.

"I swore." he said.

It felt like his stomach was being gouged with a red-hot iron.

He grasped the cork, and half the liquid spilt out.

"I swore!"

He clamped onto the bottle, and held it over his gaping mouth, draining the contents. The broken shards of his armor tore into his belly, but he realized-

It was working. He felt the pain in his stomach dulling.

He drained another, and another, pausing only to chow on one of Laura's herbs, or cough at the bitterness of the concoctions.

A glass bottle shattered against the rock face, as Soun tossed the last of the potions away. He wiped his mouth with his forearm, gave a slight burp, and rubbed anxiously at his stomach, where there should have been pain.

There was none.

He was weaponless, lost, and James had a huge headstart.

But he was alive. And he was going to live.

He swore.

* * *

><p>Day 6<p>

Bahvi. Two days before.

Soun caught Bahvi yelling at a group of hapless students, who were scrambling to follow her orders. He stood at the doorway, leaning against the side, watching the dark girl boss around a group of juniors.

"Again! Fire!"

The students all fired with their crossbow-guns, aiming twenty feet downrange at the stacks of pillows that Bahvi had set up. Most of the shots veered off, striking wood, stone, anything but pillow. One badly placed shot rang off of a iron torch holder, denting the metal badly.

Soun noticed with trepidation that the slugs, although relatively slow and inaccurate, were massive, each about the size of his hand.

"God!" Bahvi swore. "Jensen!" She kicked the boy who had fired the wild shot. "You blind from jerking off too much? I told you to aim down your sights!"

"C-Can't, Bahvi." He held up his hands. "I'm shaking too much, can't hold it st-steady."

"You deaf too? Take deep breaths!"

The boy tried, and ended up hyper-ventilating a little.

Bahvi sighed explosively, and threw up her hands.

"Take a break. Five minutes."

She turned to Soun, annoyed.

"What is it, Puppy-Dog?"

She angrily stared at him, and then her face seemed to soften. Perhaps she remembered what Soun was going to have to do in two days. And that he was probably going to die.

"Sorry. I'm just a little... stressed."

"No shit. Jensen almost cried."

"His fault he jerks off so much that he can't see ten feet in front of him." Bahvi jerked her head at the group of cowed students. "Maybe he'll stop, and actually hit the broad-side of a barn."

"I dunno." Soun gave a grin. "He might like you bossing him around like that. Closet-masochist."

He glanced at the junior, who was staring at Bahvi from in his crowd of friends. Jensen caught his eye, and hurriedly looked away.

"Maybe that's why he's always getting lessons from you, AND why he's jerking off."

Bahvi gave him on of her famous _You've-Got-To-Be-Shitting-Me_ looks, before taking him by the arm, away from the group.

She stared at him, hands on her hips, face troubled.

"What is this REALLY about, Puppy-Dog?"

"..."

"..."

"I just wanted to thank you, for leading the class last time."

"What...? Then? After you left to fight the monster leader?" Bahvi frowned. "Uh.. you're welcome."

"..."

"Soun..." Bahvi turned, and sat down on a bench. "It's so much harder than it looks. I don't know how you did it in the beginning."

"Bahvi, I didn't do anything- you did all the work."

"Shut up, Puppy-Dog. You saved us then. I was wetting my pants just like everyone else, scared out my goddamn head, and you got us fighting." She shook her head. "I just picked up your leftovers."

"Bahvi..."

She looked up with a mischievous smile.

"So, Puppy-Dog. Why're you thanking me, anyways?"

"Uh..." Soun stepped back, flustered. "I'm just... checking up on everyone. As uh, leader."

Bahvi glanced across the training hall, where a masked girl was firing her bowgun onto a set of rotating sandbags. And hitting all of them.

Her smile curled up.

"You, uh... 'check up' on Laura yet?"

"I meant to- I mean, she just happened to be last, and- "

"Yeah, I get it. Puppy-love." Bahvi glanced at Jake, Jacob, and DeSo playing cards.

"And I guess I'm going to... 'check up', on DeSo."

She punched him lightly.

"And about Laura, go get'her, Puppy-Dog."

And she left Soun, astounded.

And a little bit pissed.

He sighed... smiled, and then strode off.


End file.
